Role of ISPs thrown into copyright debate

A coalition of content creators wants the federal government to adopt a "notice and takedown" system compelling ISPs to forcefully police their networks on behalf of copyright holders. It's one of numerous recommendations made by the rights holders group in a January 22 document outlining its position on copyright reform as Industry minister Jim Prentice's drafts proposed amendments to the Canadian Copyright Act. "Exempting ISPs from liability for infringement devolves the heavy responsibility of policing the Internet onto rights holders, who must then assume the consequences of copyright infringements resulting from the commercial activities of service providers, even though they do not enjoy the profits generated by these activities," states the Creators Copyright Coalition (CCC)'s Platform on the Revision of Copyright January 2008. The CCC is an alliance of 16 professional associations including ACTRA, the Songwriters Association of Canada, the Writers Guild of Canada and the Society of Composers, Authors and Music Publishers of Canada, united by the belief that "copyright law has too often been allowed to serve the purposes and interests of corporations and individuals who are not creators, and that this has largely been done at the expense of creative artists."While ISPs have used their status as a technological intermediary in the past to avoid accountability for the content shared on their networks, the group claims they are still in the best position to defend copyright through enforcing contract clauses that prohibit illegal use of the ISP's network or by implementing content-filtering mechanisms.Two options available to ISPs, says the CCC, are "notice and notice" and "notice and takedown." In the notice and notice scheme rights holders notify ISPs of alleged violators on their network, and the ISP forwards the notice to the alleged copyright violator. In notice and takedown the ISP becomes responsible for taking direct action. The CCC welcomes the latter. "Serious and authoritative provisions need to be built into the law to protect all parties from fallacious and/or frivolous notices," writes the coalition. "Conditions for notices, and serious penalties for notice misuse must be built into the Canadian system."Other recommendations in the CCC's platform include incorporating the provisions of the WIPO Copyright Treaty into Canadian law, not extending the exceptions for format transfers of recordings, and expanding the private copying regime to include all categories of work covered by the Copyright Act. But advocating ISP involvement in copyright enforcement is particularly noteworthy as the Industry minister was warned about the privacy ramifications of such an action just before the CCC released its platform. On January 18 the Privacy Commissioner of Canada Jennifer Stoddart issued a letter to Prentice and Heritage minister Josée Verner expressing concern "about possible changes to the Act authorizing the use of technical mechanisms to prevent copyright infringement that could have a negative impact on the privacy rights of Canadians."Stoddart addressed the personal data-collection practices associated with the use of digital rights management technology as well as provisions for ISP enforcement. Commenting on the implementation of a notice and notice scheme, she wrote: "Allowing a private sector organization to require an ISP to retain personal information is a precedent-setting provision that would seriously weaken privacy protections."The Industry minister has his work cut out for him in drafting a copyright bill that fairly balances Canadians' privacy and fair-use rights with ensuring that artists are fairly compensated for their work. The delaying of the expected bill in December amid a flurry of media speculation and lobbying from both sides of the copyright debate suggest Prentice is grappling to achieve that balance. Parliament recommences January 28, and the copyright bill is expected to be tabled shortly after.

Role of ISPs thrown into copyright debate

News | 01/24/2008 3:43 pm EST

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